Half to charles c



(No Model.)

0. E. KROUSE. BAGK BAND BUCKLE.

Patented Jan. 2, 1894.

THE NATIONAL Lrmosmxmme COMPANY.

WASHINGTON. D c.

UNl-TED STATES PATENT FFICE-e CLEON E. KROUSE, OF VVILLIAMSPORT,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- I-IALF TO CHARLES C. KROUSE, OF SAMEPLACE.

BACK-BAND BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,038, dated January2, 1894.

Application filed August 15, 1892; Serial No. 443,097. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OLEON E. KROUSE, of Villiamsport, in the county ofLycoming and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new Back-BandBuckle; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connectionwith accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon,to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which saiddrawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in- 4Figure 1, a View in front elevation of a buckle constructed inaccordance with my invention; Fig. 2, an end view thereof; Fig. 3, aview in vertical section, on the line 6E'-;13 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, adetached view of the buckleframe, with the lower end of its hook brokenaway; Fig. 5, a similar view of the swinginglever.

My invention relates to an improvement in back-band or surcinglebuckles, the object being to produce a simple, cheap, strong andconvenient article, wholly of sheet-metal.

With these ends in view, myinvention consists in a buckle having certaindetails of construction as will be hereinafter described and pointed outin the claim.

As herein shown, the buckle-frame is rectangular in general form, andstruck out from a single piece of heavy sheet-metal, and comprises anupper side A, a lower side A, ends B, B, a hook 0, depending, centrally,from the said lower side A, and a presser-bar D, located about mid-waybetween the upper side A, and the lower side A, with which it isparallel, and having its upper and lower edges d, d, bent forward at aright angle to the plane of the frame, and serrated, the said edges 11,d, being centrally cut away as at d d, to form clearance spaces, thepurpose of which will appear hereinafter. The upper side A, of thebuckle-frame is not continuous, but consists of two ends which extendtoward each other.

By striking out the buckle-frame, including its heavy presser-bar, froma single piece .of metal, I secure a construction of greatstrength,which is required in buckles of this class, the frame beingat-the same time extremely simple, which is also of the utmostimportance. Therefore by striking the buckle frame including itspresser-bar, from a-single piece of metal, I am enabled to produce abuckle-frame having a smooth inner surface, the plane of the innersurface of thebar being in the plane of the inner surface of the otherportions of the frame. This feature is of particular importance in theconstruction of back-band buckles as it secures a buckle which will notchafe the horse, whereas in buckles of prior construction in which thepresser-bar is made independent of and attached to the frame,projections from the innor face of the frame are unavoidable and thoseprojections will chafe the horse. The swinging-lever of the buckle isalso struck out from a single piece of heavy sheet-metal, and comprisesa body-portion B, two oppositely extending retaining ends E, E, locatedat the upper end thereof, and extending at a right angle thereto, a longloop Eilooated at the lower end of the said body-portion, and doublybent, as will be described later on, and a clamping-bar E locatedbetween the said retaining-ends and loop, in a position to standcentrally between the forwardly turned edges d, d, of the presser-bar,when the said lever is in its closed position, in which its bodyportionE, occupies the clearance spaces (1, 61, formed in the said edges asbefore mentioned. The said loop E?, is shaped to form two bends, ofwhich the upper bend e, clears the loop from the lower side A, of thebuckle, when the lever is in its closed position, and the lower bend 6',forms a guard against the escape of the ring 6 Indicated by broken linesin Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. Furthermore, by bending the loop asdescribed, an inclined face, 6 is formed, which assists in theintroduction of the ring into the hook O, of the buckle-frame. The saidswinginglever is suspended from the upper side A, of the buckle-frame,by means of a sheet-metal tube F, the ends whereof receive therespective ends forming the upper side of the buckle-frame, and turnupon them as upon trunnions, while its central portion receives theretaining-ends of the swinging-lever,

which is thereby swung from the upper side of the frame.

It will be understood that the webbing passes forward over thepresser-bar, then downward in front of the same, and rearward.

below its lower edge, and that the clamping-bar of the swinging lever isshut down upon the outer face of the webbing, a portion of which itforces between the two toothed edges of the presser-bar, whereby thewebbing 1s very firmly gripped in the buckle. It may be mentioned also,that the webbing exerts a constant effort to throw the swinging-leverforward as by a spring, whereby the bend e of the loop is maintained inposition to prevent the escape of the ring from the hook of the frame.

I am aware that a buckle made of wire and sheet metal and having thesame general form as myimproved buckle is old.- In that prior buckle,however, the presser-bar is made independent of and attached to theframe and for the reasons stated would be objectionable as a back-bandbuckle. I do not broadly, therefore, claim a buckle having the samegeneral form as the buckle shown and described.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

V The herein described baokband buckle having a rectangular buckle framemade from a single piece of sheet-metal and comprising an upper side A,a lower side A, ends B. B a hoolfO, depending centrally from the saidlower side A, and a presser-bar D, located about midway between the sideA. and the lower side A with which it is parallel and having its upperand lower edges 01. d bent forward at a right angle to the plane of the3 5 frame and serrated, the said edges d. 01 being 'ance spaces and theinner surface of the said presser-bar being located in the plane of theinner surface of the other portions of the frame; a swinging lever madefrom a single piece of sheet-metal and comprising a body portion E, twooppositely extending retaining ends E. E located at the upper endthereof and extending at a right angle thereto, a long loop E located atthe lower end of the said body-portion and doubly bent, and a clampingbar E located between the said retaining ends and loop, in position tostand centrally between the forwardly turned edges (1, d, of thepresser-bar D, when the said 1ever is in its closed position; and asheet-metal tube F, receiving the retaining-ends E, Eof the said leverand swung upon the upper side A, of the buckle-frame, as upon trunnions,substantially as set forth, and whereby the buckle-frame has a smoothinner surface,the inner surface of the presser-bar being located in theplane of the inner surface of the other portions of the frame. r

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

I v OLEON E. KROUSE. Witnesses:

CHARLES C. KROUSE, HARRY S. MEYER.

